Words Have Power - Use That Power Wisely

Words are powerful. The little ditty we heard and sometimes used as a mantra (See? Words ARE powerful) of "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" just isn't true.

Here's an example. One of my favorite memorials in Washington, D.C. is the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. It's a different kind of memorial with four outdoor "rooms," one room for each of his terms. There are words everywhere, and one of my favorite phrases is inscribed on a granite wall, "I hate war."

Throughout this room are big blocks of granite, and two of those blocks repeat the words, "I hate war," with "I hate" on one, and "war" on another. It looks as if a giant took those words about war and broke them, symbolically "breaking" war.

Another example: a teacher, trying to explain the significance of symbols, asked his students to write "Jesus" on a piece of paper and then step on it. Even just hearing about this experiment makes me cringe. Whether we use "Jesus" or family members' names on pieces of paper... I still don't think we would want to step on those papers.

So what does that mean?

It means that words have power. They are sacred symbols of the messages we're trying to convey. As writers and business owners trying to connect with our audiences, we must be aware of that power.

I'm not trying to make you feel burdened: "Oh, now I have to REALLY watch what I write! Because it's powerful!"

What I want is for you to take your power seriously and responsibly. And revel in it... What you write can be very powerful. And you really want it to be.

Because if your message doesn't have impact, the audience won't do what you want them to do, whether it's to sign a petition, buy your product, sign up for a class, finish reading your book, hire you, whatever your purpose in writing.

Before you can start working on conveying that message, though, you have to know who's receiving your message. Can you reach everyone? No, you can't. You shouldn't want to. You should know exactly who your audience is. And it is not "everyone"!

Really.

Sometimes, writers (and anyone who writes for whatever reason) just slap some words on paper or screen and hope that they've stumbled upon the right combination.

It doesn't work that way.

You have to figure out what your message is and who it's for. Writing 101. (And Business 101 and Marketing 101 and so on.)

Here's the kicker: once you do that, you have to then figure out how to craft your message so that you reach your audience - to communicate, connect, share, bond, relate with your audience. And the only way to do that is to write with power and passion.